Bulldogs cruise in first round of SEC Tournament

Posted: Friday, May 13, 2011

By Staff Reports

OXFORD, Miss. - The ninth-ranked Georgia softball team opened the Southeastern Conference Tournament with an easy 9-0 victory over 21st-ranked LSU in five innings Thursday at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.

The Bulldogs (46-11) scored their nine runs on nine hits highlighted by a seven-run fourth inning en route to a run-rule victory that snapped a five-game losing streak in the tournament. Georgia last posted a win at the tourney in Athens in 2006 against Arkansas.

The Bulldogs will face top-seeded Alabama in the semifinal round at 5:30 p.m. today in a game televised by ESPNU.

Freshman starter Morgan Montemayor (22-3) tossed her 10th complete game and sixth shutout of the year, limiting the Tigers to just two hits and no walks with four strikeouts.

In the big fourth inning, the Bulldogs loaded the bases on singles from juniors Kristyn Sandberg and Brittney Hubbard and a walk to senior Laura Trout. Next, junior Ashley Pauly hit a two-run single up the middle. Megan Wiggins followed with a two-run triple. Schlopy then added an RBI single down the left-field line and came around to score when Goler, who set an SEC record with her 178th career walk Thursday, reached on a throwing error. The seventh run of the inning scored on a groundout from Ashley Razey, who drove in two runs on the day.